Detroit, Michigan

Detroit
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DetroitSkyline.jpg
Author: Shawn Wilson


Detroit is the biggest city - but not the capital - of the US state of Michigan. It holds the remarkable distinction of being the only major US city to look south to Canada. The Metro Detroit area has a population of 4.4 million people while the nine-country metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million.

Detroit is known in US and throughout the world as the automotive capital of the world. The "motor (vehicle) town" status of Detroit is used as a contraction in the name of a homegrown African-American owned record label called Motown, which has developed a popular music legacy.

The name Detroit comes from the French word détroit, which means "strait", in reference to its location on a strait (or in fact, river) connecting the Great Lakes. The name originated from the French le détroit du Lac Érié, meaning "the strait of Lake Erie".

The history of Detroit began when French officer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac founded a settlement called Fort Ponchartrain du Détroit in 1701. By 1765, with just a population of 800, it had become the biggest town between Montreal and New Orleans.

General Motors Headquarters, Detroit
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detroit_GM_headquarters.jpg
Author: PAC Jeff Hall


The town fell into British hands in 1760, and its name was shortened to just Detroit. Native American tribes dissatisfied with British policies launched the Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763. In 1793 Detroit became part of the United States under the Jay Treaty, but a decade later in 1805, much of it went up in smoke when a huge blaze occured.

Detroit was the capital of Michigan between 1805 and 1847, before the honor passed to Lansing, the present state capital. The relocation of the state capital was made out of concern over Detroit's proximity to British-held Canada, and memory of it falling into British hands in the War of 1812 was clearly fresh in the mind when the decision was made.

The thriving carriage trade in Detroit spurred Henry Ford to locate his first automobile workshop there in 1896, a precursor to the Ford Motor Company founded in 1904. Before long, other automotive pioneers were locating their manufacturing plants in the city, putting Detroit on the map as the automotive capital of the world.

Detroit's fortune has been closely tied to the automotive industry. The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 had a damaging impact on the city. However, the city is gradually recovered in the new millennium.

Renaissance Center, with GM Tower in the middle, Detroit
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renaissance_Center_GMnext.jpg
Author: Nakor

Travel to Detroit

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, also called Detroit Metro Airport, or simply Metro Airport (DTW), is located in Romulus, about 20 minutes west of downtown Detroit. It is the second biggest hub for Delta Air Lines after Atlanta, and offers flights to US cities as well as to good number of connections to Asia. It has six runways and two terminals, Smith and McNamara. The 1,600-meter-long McNamara Terminal is the second longest airport terminal in the world after the terminal of Kansai International Airport.

From Detroit Metro Airport, you can take the mass transit bus, called SMART, to Detroit. Bus Route 125 serves the airport. The bus goes to either Smith or McNamara terminal, but not to both. A trip to downtown takes 1 hour 15 minutes and costs $2.00.

Taxi to downtown Detroit costs $45 to $50. Detroit is built for driving, and renting a car at the airport might be a good idea if you intend to do a bit of exploring.

Travel within Detroit

Detroit is served by the yellow and green Detroit Department of Transportation buses. The fare is $1.50.

An alternative to the bus for getting around downtown Detroit is to take the People Mover, an elevated train that loops around the downtown area, over a distance of 3 miles. The standard fare is $0.50.

It is relatively easy to drive in Detroit compared to other cities such as New York. The price for renting a car is also quite reasonable.

Places of Interest in Detroit

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.